Printing-plate.



Jl s. DUNCAN.

PRINTING PLATE. Y ArPLIoATIoN FILED APR. 2z, 190e.

Patented Mar. 1,1910.

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I NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. y

`JOSEPH s. DUNCAN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoR rro .annnnssoenarrr COMPANY,

I or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

PRINTING-PLATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 1, 1910.

Application filed. April 22, 1908. Serial No. 428,503.

To all w/wm it 'may concern:

Beit known that I, JOSEPH S. DUNCAN, a

citizen ofthe United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvenients in Printing-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

according' to a card index system, with the index tab on each index plate located withfin the margin of the plate and the plain plates Constructed so that the index tabs may be easily read. And a further object of the invention is to-provddea printing plate with tion.

e a card indextab protected so that it will not be liable to injury in handling and in moving the trays or drawers containing the plates-in and out of their cabinet and otherwise.

In the accompanying drawings Figure l shows a portion of an index plate embodying my invention with the index tab in one position thereon. `Fig. 2 shows an entire in'- dex plate with the index tab at another Dosi' Fig. 3 is an end view of t-he plate shown in Fig. 2. Fig. t shows a portion of an index plate with the index tab in another position andthe type in relief on the same side of the plate with the spacing fianges. Fig. 5 is an end view of the plate shown in Fig. 4;. F ig.` 6 shows a portion of a plain plate, that is to say, a plate without the index tab. `A

The index p'late and the plain plate are `preferably made of metal which will per- 'mit the printing characters to be stamped in relief thereon but the printing characters may be otherwise applied if desired. These plates are also preferably made oblong in shape with the lines of type thereon ruiming lengthwise of the plate. The long edges of the plate 7 are bent over to form spacing flanges, 8 which are preferably of'greater depth than the printing characters 9 so that a number of platesmay be nested one against theother without contacting with the `faces of the printing characters (Fig. 3). These spacing flanges may be arranged at the back of the plate as shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, or at the front of the plate as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and serve to stiften I and strengthen the plate longitudinally.. The plain plate shown in Fig. 6 is provided with a recess 10 at one end extending substantially from one spacing flange to the other. The index plates are recessed at one end but instead of extending from flange to flange, as in the plain plates, sufficient material is left to 'form the index tab integral withV the plate, and this tab may be located at any position between the flanges. Thus, in Fig. 1 the index tab 1l is located at the left side of the plate and the recess l2 extends froin said tab to the fiange at the right of the plate. In Fig. 2 the index tab 13 is located in the middle of the recess, or, in other words, the plate is recessed at le on each side of said tab. In Fig. 4 the index tab l5 is located at the right of the plate and the recess 16 between said tab and the flange at the left of the plate. Obviously, the index tabs may be made narrow to receive a single index character, instead of two as shown, and they may be disposed between the flanges in any desired manner. The index character may be stamped, printed or otherwise applied to the tab to enable the plate to be used in a card index system. `When the plates are so arranged there will generally be quite a number of plain plates between each pair of index plates and as all of the plain plates are recessed, as shown in Fig. 6, the index tabs on the index plates will be clearly displayed and easily read. These plates are arranged in trays or drawers which are adapted to slide in and out of a cabinet made to receive them. The two long edges constitute the sides and the two short edges the top and bottom of the plate when stored in a tray or drawer.' The end of the plate provided with the recess, or with the recess and tab, is the top and the other end is the bottom of the plate when stored. If the tab projects beyond the margin of the plate it is very liable to be bent or broken inV handling the plate, during the stamping operation or the printing operation, and in handling the trays or drawers, but when the tab is located within `the margin of the plate in accordance withthis invention it is always protected by the corners 17 of the plate. The

plate is narrow, so that it is not liable to bend or buckle transversely,'and the flanges keep the plate flat lengthwise.

the printing characters when a, number of plates are arranged in a stack, and to stiften and strengthen the plate lengthwise, Ythe 15 printing characters on one side in lines runshort edge of said plate constituting the top b ning lengthwise thereof, the long edges of 5 thereof, being recessedV between the side said plate constituting the sides and the edges, and an index tab integral with the short edges constituting the top and bottom plate, and arranged within said recess withthereof, said plate being made out of a in the margin of the plate.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

An oblong printing plate provided with single sheet of metal and having its long JOSEPH S.A DUNCAN. 30 edges bent inwardly to form spacing anges Y Witnesses of greater depth than the printing characl WM. F. BELT,

ters, to prevent Contact of the pla-tes with M. A. KIDDIE. 

